NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut women's basketball defeated Assumption University, 65-58, in the first round of the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament at Moore Field House. With the win, the Owls improved to 12-13 overall, while the Greyhounds finished their season 12-13.
Graduate student
Jessica Fressle (Levittown, N.Y.) led all players with 24 points and 20 rebounds, and chipped in four assists. Senior
Delaney Connors (West Hartford, Conn.) recorded 23 points on 69-percent shooting from the field, and chipped in four rebounds, and two assists. Connors hit the game-tying basket with 18.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and notched the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 39 seconds to play in overtime. Senior
Zoë Amalbert (Nanuet, N.Y.) had 12 points on 50-percent shooting from the field and dished out 10 assists.
Quarter Scores
Q1: ASM 15, SCS 13
Q2: SCS 27, ASM 23
Q3: SCS 43, ASM 37
Q4: SCS 52, ASM 52
OT: SCS 65, ASM 58
How It Happened
- Southern and Assumption played back-and-forth over the game's first 10 minutes, with the Greyhounds holding a 15-13 advantage heading into the second quarter.
- The Owls tied the game on their first possession of the second quarter, and ultimately pushed their lead to 22-15 midway through the frame thanks to a 9-0 run highlighted by five points from Delaney Connors and four from Jessica Fressle. The Owls outscored the Greyhounds, 14-8, in the second quarter to head in halftime with a 27-23 lead.
- Just over two minutes in the second half, Assumption took the lead, 31-29, and then the Owls used a 12-1 run, highlighted by eight points from Fressle to take a 41-32 lead with 1:21 to go in the third.
- Fressle's jumper two minutes into final frame gave the Owls a 47-37 lead. After that, the Greyhounds put together a 13-2 run over a stretch of 7:23 that gave them a 50-47 lead with two minutes to play. Zoë Amalbert quickly tied the game with a three-pointer to get the Owls offense going. After Assumption responded, it was Amalbert, in-bounding from under the Owls basket, finding Connors streaking to the hoop for the lay-up to tie it at 52-52 and send the game to overtime.
- In overtime, Connors took over, pouring in eight of the Owls' 13 points and outscoring the Greyhounds, who were held to six points in the extra five minutes.
- Holding a 58-56 lead, it was Connors' three-pointer off a cross-court pass from Amalbert, from in front of the Owls' bench, that put the exclamation point on the Owls' home victory. The shot from long range gave the Owls a 61-56 lead with 39 seconds to play and pushed the Owls to the W.
Notes
- Jessica Fressle notched her 15th double-double of the season with 24 points and 20 rebounds. She also had her eighth game with 20-plus points.
- Fressle also topped a career-high in rebounds with 20. Her previous career-high was 18 and came against Holy Family on Nov. 28, 2021.
- Zoë Amalbert has notched at least ten assists in five games this season. She has at least three assists in 24 of her 25 games played this season.
- Delaney Connors had her third game with 20-plus points. With a 69-percent shooting percentage from the floor against Assumption, Connors recorded her second-best shooting percentage of the season. Her career-high came in a massive performance against Adelphi on Jan. 5 when she shot 70-percent from the field.
- The Owls have now won all three of their overtime games played this season.
- Southern's last win in the NE10 Tournament came against Southern New Hampshire in the first round, 75-64, on Feb. 25, 2018.
Up Next
The Owls head to Manchester, N.H. to face Southern New Hampshire in the NE10 Quarterfinals on Monday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
